RUNWAY LENGTH

Both take-off and landing requirements need to be considered when determining the
length of runway to be provided and the need for operations to be conducted in both
directions of the runway. Local conditions that may need to be considered include
elevation, temperature, runway slope, humidity and the runway surface characteristics.

Except where a runway is associated with a stopway and/or clearway, the actual runway
length to be provided for a primary runway should be adequate to meet the operational
requirements of all aeroplanes for which the runway is intended and should be not less
than the longest length determined by applying the corrections for local conditions to the
operations and performance characteristics of the relevant aeroplanes.

CLEARWAY
a defined rectangular area on the ground or water under the control of the appropriate
authority, selected or prepared as a suitable area over which an aeroplane may make a
portion of its initial climb to a specified height. It is the area beyond the runway not less
than 152 m wide and centrally located about the extended centerline of the runway.

STOPWAY
Stopway is the area at the end of take-off runway no less wide than the runway and
centered upon extended centerline of runway and able to support the aeroplane during an
aborted take-off without causing structural damage to the aeroplane.

CALCULATION OF DECLARED DISTANCES

The introduction of stopways and clearways and the use of displaced thresholds on
runways has created a need for accurate information regarding the various physical
distances available and suitable for the landing and take-off of aeroplanes. For these
purposes, the term “declared distances” is used with the following four distances
associated with a particular runway:

a) Take-off run available (TORA), i.e. the length of runway declared available and
suitable for the ground run of an aeroplane taking off.
b) Take-off distance available (TODA), i.e. the length of the take-off run available plus
the length of the clearway, if provided.
c) Accelerate stop distance available (ASDA), i.e. the length of the take-off run available
plus the length of the stopway, if provided.
d) Landing distance available (LDA), i.e. the length of runway which is declared
available and suitable for the ground run of an aeroplane landing.

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Figure 3-1 illustrates typical cases, and Figure 3-2 shows a tabulation of declared
distances.
 Where a runway is not provided with a stopway or clearway and the threshold is
located at the extremity of the runway, the four declared distances should
normally be equal to the length of the runway as shown in Figure 3-1A.

 Where a runway is provided with a clearway (CWY), then the TODA will include
the length of clearway as shown in Figure 3-1B.

 Where a runway is provided with a stopway (SWY), then the ASDA will include
the length of stopway as shown in Figure 3-1C.

 Where a runway has a displaced threshold, then the LDA will be reduced by the
distance the threshold is displaced as shown in Figure 3-1D.

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RUNWAY LENGTH CORRECTIONS FOR ELEVATION, TEMPERATURE,
AND SLOPE
As a first step, a basic length should be selected for the runway adequate to meet the
operational requirements of the aeroplanes for which the runway is intended. This basic
length is a runway length selected for aerodrome planning purposes which is required for
take-off or landing under standard atmospheric conditions for zero elevation, zero wind
and zero runway slope.

a. The basic length selected for the runway should be increased at the rate of 7 per
cent per 300 m elevation.
b. The length of runway determined in (a) should be further increased at the rate of
1% for every 1°C by which the aerodrome reference temperature exceeds the
temperature in the standard atmosphere for the aerodrome elevation (see Table 3-
1). If, however, the total correction for elevation and temperature exceeds 35%,
the required corrections should be obtained by means of a specific study. The
operational characteristics of certain aeroplanes may indicate that these correction
constants for elevation and temperature are not appropriate, and that they may
need to be modified by results of aeronautical study based upon conditions
existing at the particular site and the operating requirements of such aeroplanes.

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The aerodrome reference temperature is the monthly mean of the average daily
temperature for the hottest month of the year plus one-third of the difference between this
temperature and the monthly mean of the maximum daily temperature for the same
month of the year.

T 2−T 1
Aerodrome Reference Temperature =T 1 +
3

where:
T1 = the monthly mean of the average daily temperature for the hottest month of the year.
T2 = the monthly mean of the maximum daily temperature for the same month.

The values of T1 and T2 are determined over a period of years. On any day, it is easy to
observe the maximum and minimum temperature, t2 and t1, respectively.

t 1 +t 2
Average Daily Temperature=
2

Maximum Daily Temperature = t2

c. Where the basic length determined by take-off requirements is 900 m or over, that
length should be further increased at the rate of 20% for each 1% of the runway
slope. Steeper gradient requires more consumption of energy for takeoff and takes
longer to attain the desired ground speed

d. Landing basic length will only be adjusted for elevation.

Examples of the application of runway length corrections

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